Job summary
Early Intervention in Psychosis
Band 7 Clinical/Counselling Psychologists or CBT Therapists
The post holder will join a well-established and supportive early intervention in psychosis service for people aged between 18-65 who are experiencing a first episode of psychosis and their families. The team is multi-disciplinary and offers NICE concordant care, which includes an emphasis on access to Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Family Interventions.
We are looking to appoint a Clinical/Counselling Psychologist or Cognitive Behavioural Therapist (CBT) to work in the Early Intervention in psychosis service in Camden. The post is full-time but part-time hours and flexible working will be considered.
The post is based at Greenland Road, which is in the centre of Camden Town, with great transport links and amenities.
Main duties of the job
You would work directly with individuals, groups and families from a wide range of diverse backgrounds, providing tailored assessment, formulation, consultation and interventions for psychosis, bipolar and co-occurring psychological difficulties such as trauma. You would work closely with MDT colleagues and other agencies to provide psychologically informed care, through joint working, training, consultation, supervision and reflective practice. You would also have opportunities to undertake service development, service evaluation, quality improvement (QI) and research. You would be expected to practice as an independent clinician and work autonomously within professional guidelines and the policies and procedures of the service.
Previous experience of working with people with psychosis is essential for this position, as is an enthusiasm for creative working, interest in innovation and co-production. The post requires HCPC registration as a practitioner psychologist or BABCP accreditation as a CBT therapist.
Candidates coming towards the end of their clinical/counselling psychology training may apply and commence in post after qualification and registration with the HCPC. If there is significant delay in obtaining qualification from a training course as a result of requirements to make major thesis corrections, then initial appointment at Band 6 as a trainee psychologist with progression to Band 7 on qualification and HCPC registration will be considered.
About us
You would be joining a vibrant community of psychological therapists in community psychosis services, drawing on a range of approaches including CBTp, Family interventions and systemic therapies, third wave therapies, and other approaches. We are committed to providing regular and high-quality supervision as well as excellent opportunities for continued professional development.
We offer an extensive CPD programme, including training and specialist supervision in CBTp and Family Interventions in Psychosis, in-house psychological workshops in systemic, psychodynamic, CBT and MI approaches, and excellent opportunities for research and leadership development. We have close links with local training organisations and have trainees on placement working under supervision.
Our Community Mental Health Transformation Programme means that it is an exciting time for psychology to play a key role in helping shape services to be more accessible, trauma-informed and recovery focused. We value diversity in our team and are committed to make our workforce more representative of the communities we serve. We also attach importance to staff wellbeing, and have a range of initiatives to support this, including flexible working options.
By coming to work at Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust you will be joining a Trust with a national reputation for research where services recognise that research underpins its commitment to providing high quality and innovative clinical care.
Job description
Job responsibilities
To provide a psychological therapy service to the clinical team and service users, providing psychological assessment, formulation and treatment and offering advice and consultation on clients psychological care to referrers, non-psychologist colleagues and other non-professional carers.
To provide advice, guidance, consultation and supervision to staff within the team.
This may include supervision of trainee and/or assistant psychologists.
The post holder will be responsible for keeping up to date with the data entry requirements of the post. They will contribute to staff and service training initiatives and will use research skills for service audit, policy and service development as required.
Job description
Job responsibilities
To provide a psychological therapy service to the clinical team and service users, providing psychological assessment, formulation and treatment and offering advice and consultation on clients psychological care to referrers, non-psychologist colleagues and other non-professional carers.
To provide advice, guidance, consultation and supervision to staff within the team.
This may include supervision of trainee and/or assistant psychologists.
The post holder will be responsible for keeping up to date with the data entry requirements of the post. They will contribute to staff and service training initiatives and will use research skills for service audit, policy and service development as required.
Person Specification
Education/Qualifications
Essential
- Doctoral level training in clinical or counselling psychology or core profession plus approved CBT qualification
- Current registration with the Health and Care Professions Council as a clinical psychologist or a counselling psychologist, or BABCP registration as a CBT therapist
Desirable
- Post-graduate doctoral level qualification in clinical or counselling psychology as accredited by the British Psychological Society, or British Psychological Society Statement of Equivalence
- CBT for Psychosis PGDip
Experience
Essential
- Experience of psychological assessment and treatment of adult service users with psychotic disorders and their comorbidities in a secondary mental health setting, ideally within the community
- Experience of working with a wide variety of service users, across the whole life course and presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity evident in populations with psychosis
- Experience of working effectively in a multi-disciplinary team
- Experience of applying cognitive behaviour therapy approaches to psychosis
- Experience of conducting high quality risk assessments and implementing risk management plans.
Desirable
- Experience of teaching, training and offering effective consultation and supervision services
- Experience of the application of CBT in different cultural contexts
- Experience of offering Family Intervention
- Specialist experience in early intervention for psychosis, cognitive therapy for psychosis and the prevention of psychosis (e.g. specialist placement, previous employment in EI or participation in a research trial).
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health.
Skills/Abilities
Essential
- Skills in the use of a range of methods of psychological assessment (including psychometric tests), intervention and management for the full range of problems of severity and complexity presented in adult mental health, particularly with regards psychosis and its comorbidities
- Ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, with service users, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups
- The ability to work effectively in a multi-disciplinary team
- Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
- Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice.
- An ability to work independently and problem-solve
- An ability to work independently to identify and manage risk
- Ability to be self-motivated, to manage time effectively, to work under pressure and to prioritise a clinical workload.
- IT skills; including the use of Microsoft Office and Outlook, entering date onto electronic patient records, using MS Teams for video calls
Knowledge
Essential
- A High level of knowledge about evidence based psychological therapies (including cognitive behaviour therapy and family intervention) for psychosis
- Postgraduate-level knowledge of research methodology, research design and data analysis as practised within the clinical fields of psychology.
- A high level of knowledge and expertise about Early Intervention for Psychosis and related legislation/policy
- Knowledge of social care, care planning and risk assessment.
Desirable
- Knowledge of applying and adapting CBT to adolescents.
Personal Qualities
Essential
- Ability to form good working relationships with others in a multidisciplinary setting.
- Interest in working with people presenting with first episode psychosis
- Flexible and positive approach to changing circumstances
- Willing to engage in training to meet the needs of this client group
- Willing to carry out all duties and responsibilities of the post in accordance with the Trust's Equal Opportunities and Equality and Diversity policies
- Ability to recognise signs of stress and seek the appropriate support
- Ability to identify own developmental needs and take responsibility for personal development
Person Specification
Education/Qualifications
Essential
- Doctoral level training in clinical or counselling psychology or core profession plus approved CBT qualification
- Current registration with the Health and Care Professions Council as a clinical psychologist or a counselling psychologist, or BABCP registration as a CBT therapist
Desirable
- Post-graduate doctoral level qualification in clinical or counselling psychology as accredited by the British Psychological Society, or British Psychological Society Statement of Equivalence
- CBT for Psychosis PGDip
Experience
Essential
- Experience of psychological assessment and treatment of adult service users with psychotic disorders and their comorbidities in a secondary mental health setting, ideally within the community
- Experience of working with a wide variety of service users, across the whole life course and presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity evident in populations with psychosis
- Experience of working effectively in a multi-disciplinary team
- Experience of applying cognitive behaviour therapy approaches to psychosis
- Experience of conducting high quality risk assessments and implementing risk management plans.
Desirable
- Experience of teaching, training and offering effective consultation and supervision services
- Experience of the application of CBT in different cultural contexts
- Experience of offering Family Intervention
- Specialist experience in early intervention for psychosis, cognitive therapy for psychosis and the prevention of psychosis (e.g. specialist placement, previous employment in EI or participation in a research trial).
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health.
Skills/Abilities
Essential
- Skills in the use of a range of methods of psychological assessment (including psychometric tests), intervention and management for the full range of problems of severity and complexity presented in adult mental health, particularly with regards psychosis and its comorbidities
- Ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, with service users, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups
- The ability to work effectively in a multi-disciplinary team
- Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
- Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice.
- An ability to work independently and problem-solve
- An ability to work independently to identify and manage risk
- Ability to be self-motivated, to manage time effectively, to work under pressure and to prioritise a clinical workload.
- IT skills; including the use of Microsoft Office and Outlook, entering date onto electronic patient records, using MS Teams for video calls
Knowledge
Essential
- A High level of knowledge about evidence based psychological therapies (including cognitive behaviour therapy and family intervention) for psychosis
- Postgraduate-level knowledge of research methodology, research design and data analysis as practised within the clinical fields of psychology.
- A high level of knowledge and expertise about Early Intervention for Psychosis and related legislation/policy
- Knowledge of social care, care planning and risk assessment.
Desirable
- Knowledge of applying and adapting CBT to adolescents.
Personal Qualities
Essential
- Ability to form good working relationships with others in a multidisciplinary setting.
- Interest in working with people presenting with first episode psychosis
- Flexible and positive approach to changing circumstances
- Willing to engage in training to meet the needs of this client group
- Willing to carry out all duties and responsibilities of the post in accordance with the Trust's Equal Opportunities and Equality and Diversity policies
- Ability to recognise signs of stress and seek the appropriate support
- Ability to identify own developmental needs and take responsibility for personal development
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
